Last season, Buccaneers Quarterback Baker Mayfield put forth the best performance of his career.
He was supported by an elite offensive coordinator, one of the best run games in the NFL, and a pair of all-time-great Bucs wideouts.
The Bucs also had a tremendous offensive line, with Luke Goedeke and Cody Mauch taking much-needed steps forward in their development.
Entering this year, the Bucs not only have those 2 wideouts, they also spent a 1st round pick on a third, Emeka Egbuka.
They have some differences; their OC, Josh Grizzard, is a first-time NFL play caller.
Tristan Wirfs will miss a few games, and Chris Godwin’s status is questionable to start the season.
And Yet… Baker Could Be Even Better This Year
He put up a 90th percentile PFF grade among QBs last season, had 41 TDs and 4.5k passing yards, and his passer rating and TD rate were both near the top of the league.
Mayfield did all of this with a Mike Evans IR stint and Chris Godwin suffering a season-ending injury in the Bucs’ home matchup with the Ravens.
Liam Coen was also in his first (and it turns out only) season as the Bucs’ OC, and the offensive line was without Luke Goedeke for some time as he dealt with concussion issues.
Baker got some help from a couple of excellent draft choices, with rookies Bucky Irving and Jalen McMillan having superlative and solid rookie seasons, but setting up young guns like that for success takes senior leadership, something Mayfield provides in spades.
He’s been around, and something like this would be one heck of a story for a former 1st overall pick who bounced around and was essentially cut by the Browns of all teams.
While it would be a long shot for Baker to win MVP honors in a league with Jackson, Burrow, Mahomes, and Allen, crazier things have happened.
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He still has a very good supporting staff, but not one good enough to dismiss any success he might have.
Evans, Godwin, and Egbuka might actually be one of the best receiving trios in the NFL, but they lack the pop or name brand recognition of other receiving groups like the Eagles, Bengals, or Vikings.
Bucky Irving is in a lot of smart football people’s top 5 (or top 3) for NFL running backs, but others still might need to see more to give him the respect he deserves.
So, yeah, the Bucs’ offense is loaded, but they’re just a bunch of flour without a proper Baker (pretty good huh?).
If he can cut down on those 16 interceptions, reduce his turnover worthy play rate, and bump up his completion percentage over expected (82nd percentile last season), he could be a very serious candidate.
And if all that happens, the Buccaneers could be in business not only for the division, but for a Super Bowl appearance.
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